Chapter Text
It took centuries of study and practice to become a level 20 wizard, a person capable of placing new stars into the cosmos and reshaping reality, Oisin had gained the power of a level 20 wizard in a few months of killing monsters in the woods.
He had the ability to call meteors to the earth, peer into the future, and pull things from other planes of reality.
He had all the power all the ability, but none of the knowledge.
Oisin had always valued knowledge. It was the one thing no one could steal from you.
The world could rob you blind, tear you apart, and make you a slave against your will but it could never tear you away from what you had learned.
Even spells that made someone dumber than a door nail weren't permanent.
He felt it in his very soul
Burning through him faster and hotter than any rage
The want
The NEED
He had resigned himself to spend decades researching and learning. Trying to even get a fraction of the knowledge someone of his power should have.
But here it was
Resting on his finger
The secret to the universe
The way to make everything right. To turn back the clock
Before Porter,
Before Shatter Stars,
Before Rage
To fix himself so he wasn't so broken
Oisin had planned it all out. How he would make everything back to how it was before, but first he had to take the first step.
One of the three diamonds on top of the ring went opaque as he took the plunge.
Riz prided himself on his work, his efficiency, and most of all is unrelenting determination to never give up on a case. He always pushed till he solved it, persevered and cracked it wide open.
Never giving up.
Always getting more clues and seeing what he could find.
Riz's PI office didn't have a single cold case.
He always solved the crime. He always shined the light of truth into the darkest corners. He always cracked the case.
Even when he couldn't do anything about it he still found out at least what happened.
Oisin case was possible the clodest case in existence. It was driving him insane.
It couldn't have been a kidnapping there was no struggle, no ransom, and no person who had a motive to kidnap him.
Oisin was almost certainly alive but no divination could find him.
All signs pointed to Oisin having woken up from the Shatter Star and just leaving.
But that couldn't be the explanation. It made no sense.
Why leave after waking up from cured of the Shatter Stars?
What about his friends and belongings all of which were in Elmvile?
What about his house and all of his magical item making supplies which he was obsessed with?
Oisin had absolutely no reason to just up and leave.
Every lead Riz had came up short. His house has not been entered since before Seacaster Manor was launched into the sky which meant he was never back there after the battle.
Even after three weeks the cops had not seen anyone remotely similar to Oisin after he put out a missing persons report and when Riz examined the scene of the disappearance it was remarkably disappointing.
Riz had just finished removing Adaine from Figs grasp a good 20 minutes after her escape attempt because he need a wizard to help him examine the gym.
Heading inside it was still completely destroyed just as they had left it after defeating Porter except now there wasn't the lava blood of a goddess running under their feet.
Riz started looking for clues, finding the exact spot were each of the Rat Grinders had been laying based on which areas were the least covered in ash.
He remembered calling out to Adaine to do dectet magic and remembered having to snap her out of her thoughts a few times because she kept going glassy eyed and then blushing.
Riz was one of the few Bad Kids who wasn't particularly interested in "getting their kisses in" as Fabian put it and had thought Adaine was the same.
He had never seen her so completely flustered over something or in this case someone.
Riz wasn't particularly interested in it and didn't want to push Adaine to hard so he just decided to ignore it and focus on work.
The detect magic couldn't find anything useful mostly because an hour earlier they were standing inside the body of a resurrecting god as they fought and cast spells. It wasn't a lack of magic. More a saturation of it.
In the end Riz concluded Oisin had gotten up and then somehow had been teleported out as there were not footprints left in the ash near where Oisin had been laying.
It had been a complete bust and the following weeks treated Riz no better. The case was dead in the water and Riz was considering just saying the Oisin Ordeal was a cold case.
He would have done that a few days ago with such a supreme lack of evidence but he couldn't bear to do that to Ivy or any of the former Rat Grinders who now went by the High Five Heroes again.
The past weeks had been terrible for them. From missing large chunks of their memory to having most other Aguefort students hate them because of their Shattered Starred selves it wasn't going the best for them. Even with the Bad Kids defending them a lot of students still held contempt for them. Some even after having their shit kicked in by Fig.
Ivy especially, without Oisin Ivy was quieter, not as quick to hit back with a comeback or a snappy remark. Whenever the Bad Kids went to visit her and the other High Five Heroes she was always hanging around in Oisin's room in Ruben's house or fiddling with something he had made. She seemed semi normal when she was with Aelwyn the two becoming fast friends bonding over both of them being redeemed villains with a quick wit but she always carrying around a lot of sadness.
She was constantly asking Riz for updates on the case and asking what she could do to help. Sadly Riz could rarely give her much.
The other High Five Heroes weren't holding up very well either. Ruben had no memory of anything that happened when he was rage starred and was struggling with dissociation. Completely disconnecting from himself at certain triggers. He had once told Riz it felt like he watching himself go through life, like everything happening was happening to someone he was watching through a crystal. Mary Ann seemed to be doing okay but Riz was never really sure what was going on with her; though her and Gorgug had started dating. Lucy was clearly distraught over Oisin missing, throwing herself into working on her and Kristen's new pantheon. Anytime he was brought up she would start silently crying and excuse herself from the room. The one time her and Riz talked about it she had told him how worried she as for him and how she was so scared by the fact they had no idea where he was. She and him had been close and while Oisin was Ivy's best friend who Oisin told everything to Lucy had always been the group mom. Watching out for them whenever they need something or someone. She felt terrible that she couldn't do anything to help (and honestly Riz felt the same).
So he couldn't just give up. He couldn't just say there were no leads and no clues. He couldn't admit he had absolutely nothing to work with.
He had to keep trying for the sake of the High Five Heroes, for the sake of Oisin, for his sake.
Thats why he was currently banging his head against his office desk hyped up on 5 cups of coffee at 4 in the morning on a Monday.
He got up to pace around the room and examine he meager clue board for the 30th time. It was as it had been a minute ago overflowing with information none of which was useful.
Sure Riz had theories about what happened to Oisin.
A vengeful Jace that had somehow survived teleporting him away.
A somehow still rage starred Oisin waking up and leaving to plot his vengance.
Or even a magical blip in space and time somehow snatching him away.
Riz had many theories but none of them were even remotely backed by evidence.
Still deep in thought Riz was startled back to reality as he heard a knock on the door of his office.
Staring through the peephole on the door he was great by a very annoyed looking Sklonda Gukgak.
Slowly opening the door Riz carefully said "Hey mom, whats up?"
Sighing and stepping inside his mom started talking.
"Riz its 4 in the morning and the Bad Kids are worried about you because you haven't answered any texts or calls in the last 24 hours."
"Well I've been busy working I can't find anything for this case, and I shut my crystal down to focus"
"Riz you haven't been home in the last 48 hours how long have you been up kiddo?"
"I've slept" he said defensively "I took a 30 minute power nap 14 hours ago."
"That doesn't matter though I really need to solve this case. Its super important."
"I know kiddo but sometimes a case goes cold and there's nothing you can do. You just have to wait for the possibility of more clues showing up and if they never do you have to live with it. Sorry kiddo but you shouldn't kill yourself trying to do the impossible, you've solved some difficult cases before Riz but this one has almost none evidence. There's no point in trying to magic clues and connections into existence. Come on kiddo lets head home."
He hung his head his ears flattening against his skull. He knew there was nothing he could do. There was no point to pursue the case when he had no evidence and no leads but it just felt some much like giving up.
Finally he sighed and whispered out. "...Okay mom. I don't think there is anything more I can do."
They walked out of his office Riz locking the door behind him. He had some difficult conversations tomorrow.
Oisin had always loved plans. Plans meant you had concrete control. That as long as you stuck to the plan and executed it perfectly everything would turn out fine. Plans trumped fear they got rid of uncertainty made it so everything would be okay as long as you stuck to it.
Oisin had made the perfect plan before he had made his first wish. Get the knowledge of a 20th level wizard and then use the remaining wishes and newfound knowledge to make everything like it used to be.
When Oisin first made the wish it felt like his head would explode. The pain of having millennias of knowledge and experience enter his mind, but afterwards it had felt sublime.
Secrets of arcane knowledge hidden from even the most powerful minds, spells and rituals so complex they would drive a weaker caster insane, and the knowledge and ability to rewrite the web of fate.
As Oisin went to complete his plan he suddenly felt a voice in his head, its words long and coiling like it was wrapping around his brain.
It was his voice of course it had to be.
No other voice would be in his head. After reaching that conclusion Oisin listened intently as it (he?) asked a question.
Why?
What did he mean, why. He knew why he had to go through with the plan it was the only way to go back to before to make everything how it was before.
Do you really want that? He asked.
To go back to when you were weak? To go back to when you were pathetic? To go back to when you were Oisin?
No of course he didn't want that.
It was bad before. It can be better now all you have to do is make it. You never have to be Oisin again. You could conquer the world make nations and even gods kneel before you.
But he didn't want that he wanted to quietly make magic items and spells living a content life.
At least try out your power. Make something spectacular and powerful something no other wizard could make before you start filling out boring requests for boring adventurers. An artifact that could change the cosmos.
Yes, that's a good idea he thought. Something to test out his new found knowledge and power. To test his limits.
Oisin had to get to work.